WheN and where are our distributions?

Our pickup is 3:30 to 7:30 pm on Tuesdays at 35-11 35th Avenue (between 35 & 36th Streets). Our distributions take place under the giant portico of the original Kaufman Astoria film studio where the Marx Brothers made their first two movies and where Sesame Street, Sex in the City, and Orange Is the New Black were filmed. This is the perfect home for us! We’re outside but under a huge two-story roof that protects our fruit and vegetable shares from the sun and the rain. We are grateful to Kaufman Astoria Studios for allowing us to use this historic space. And we owe a special debt of gratitude to Domenico and Anthony Sacramone and their restaurant, Sac’s Place, for sharing their outdoor patio space with us.

OUr humble beginnings

Four longtime members of Astoria CSA decided to start Dutch Kills CSA in 2017. We had just 19 members our first year. We grew to 67 members in our second year, 90 members in our third year, and 125 members in our fourth year, 2020—the first year of the pandemic. For the last three years we’ve had about 140 members, which is the perfect size for us.

It’s always been our goal to make CSA shares affordable to everyone in our community, and so to raise the money to achieve that goal we became a nonprofit organization in 2019. In the spring of 2020, as COVID-19 took a terrible toll on our nation and New York City went into lockdown, we launched our Equity Shares Program. Over the past four years our members have contributed more than $11,500 to the fund. We’ve raised another $8,000 through bake sales, membership fees, and markups on our shares. Thank you all for your generosity!

Our fund-raising success has allowed us to subsidize 70+ vegetable shares at a cost of more than $17,500 over the past four years. We’ve also donated more than $8,000 in fruit and vegetable shares to Astoria Food Pantry and local fridges.

Dutch Kills CSA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all of your donations to our Equity Shares Program are tax deductible. Please consider making a contribution if you can.

Core Members
Michele Basco – Head Site Coordinator
Marco Cipolletti – IT Coordinator
Jessi Cohen – Site Coordinator
Tracey DeBenedictis – Communications Coordinator
Danielle Gill – Equity Coordinator
Benham Jones – Coordinator of Donated Shares
Cheryl LoMaglio – Outreach Coordinator
Mark McClure – Set Up and Site Coordinator
Julia Mucci – Site Coordinator
Tonice Sgrignoli – Core Coordinator, Treasurer, Farm Liaison
Susan Valdes-Dapena – Education Coordinator
We need your talent! Would you like to be a Co-Treasurer? We are also looking for a Volunteer Coordinator. Please consider joining our core team! Email info@dutchkillscsa.com.